Overnight with M

The girls (#7 and #8) came over yesterday afternoon for our regular Friday afternoon play date. 
When they were picked up by their Mum, I went to their house too and slept over.  Shelly thought I'd been kidnapped!!

There was so much excitement among the children to have a visitor sleeping over.  Everyone wanted me to sleep in their room!  Everyone had something to show me or tell me. After I went to bed, the older children were still getting ready for bed. Their mother kept telling them to be quiet because "M's asleep".  It didn't take long for the kids to decide that they should check.  I was laying on #5's bed setting my alarm on my phone when one of the children opened the door to check if I was asleep.  I looked towards the door and it closed.  Next thing I heard was, "She's not asleep, she is on her phone!" About ten minutes later, when I had put my phone away and really was trying to go to sleep, the door opened again.  I decided not to move.  The door closed.  Then I heard, "she isn't moving, I think she is asleep now." 
It was so hard not to laugh!

In the morning, I was greeted with smiles and cuddles during breakfast.  Then I got more cuddles when it was time for everyone to leave. 

It was entertaining, however the sleep in a different bed with limited pillows has led to a sore neck.  Therefore, I will probably not be sleeping every Friday.  Besides, you have to make sure you are still a special occasion.  Once the novelty wears off, the kids start ignoring and that isn't nearly as much fun. 

If you don't have some kids in your life, you better get some.  I'm not suggesting you go out and knock up yourself or someone else.  Maybe just spend some more time with the children who belong to a good friend or family member (which would make the children your family too).  Seeing the world from the perspective of an 18 month old, a three year old or a nine year old does wonders for the soul!

Now it's time for a nap!

Little Visitors

Number 7 (she is 3 years old... my niece) has been coming to my house every Friday for quite a few weeks now.  You could almost call it a routine.  Last week, her little sister, Number 8 (she is my niece who is about 16 months old) came too.  They will both be coming over on Friday afternoons/ early evenings for the Summer while the rest of their siblings (and parents) go to Futsal. 

Number 7 and I have been having a great time on Friday afternoons.  My mum returns home from work at about 5:20pm and then we get into the routine of dinner, bath, teeth cleaning, story time, tidy up.  This is great, because I get to play!!

Ms 7 loves to paint.  She also loves art and craft - basically if I give her pain or glue and paper she is a happy girl- and BUBBLES.  Ms 8 is in a phase of putting everything in her mouth AND she wants to do everything her big sister is doing.  This can be a bit of a problem, as some things you can do with a 3 year old are just not suitable for a 16 month old.  Funnily enough, I made a toy last week just for #8 and her big sister wanted to play with it.  I had another fight on my hands. 

I have been pinning lots of great ideas for homemade toys, art and activities to both occupy these bundles of energy and stimulate their curious minds.  They are both in the stage of grabbing everything in site to explore it.  #7 loves to ask questions!  She asks "what's that?" "why?" "show me?" "where" and "how".  She wants to know everything!!

The girls love bath time too!  Which is great for me, because I can sit beside the bath (close enough to grab if needed) while they fill, pour and splash to their hearts' content. 

The point of this post was to tell you what we have been up to.  That's hard to cover.  I will say that we have used lots of my craft supplies and I have been buying more for their use.  Naughty!!

Ms 7 loved cutting straws into pieces then threading the pieces onto pipe cleaners to make bracelets and necklaces.  She loves stickers and stamps too.  I mentioned bubbles earlier - we like experimenting with food colouring in the bubble solution and watching the bubbles pop over the top of paper.  Painting and Bubbles in one!!!

Playdough is great too.  Each week I get out a different set of playdough materials to use.  One week we might have alphabet cookie cutters; the next week it is number cookie cutters, the next it is straws and cups.  We have one small store bought playdough tools set with a roller, small animal shaped cutters and other plastic tools.  Changing the tools each time keeps this activity fresh and different. 

For an overview this is fairly good.  If you are looking for activities to do with your little ones there are some great websites out there.  I often search Pinterest to find images of activities (which tend to spark my own imagination to make up my own things) as well as good old google.  I have to admit, Google searches often send me to the same type of sites.  Check out my Pinterest Boards (links below) to see some great activities.
Nephews and Nieces, Bits and Pieces: ideas for activities, games, art, craft, gifts etc for kids.  Most pins are related to under 9 yo. 
Craft for the Kids: first created to share craft ideas with my Mum for her youth group at church.  Craft ideas are mostly for children aged between 4 and 15 years old. 
Just for Laney: she is a friend who works with 2-3 year olds, so I was pinning activities, read aloud books, crafts, short videos for her to use with the children at her Childcare Centre.  You might find something interesting there.

I love the little Visitors and I'm loving the time we can spend together.  I don't get nearly enough time to get covered in paint and splash in a bubble bath!

A Busy Week of Busy!

Dad was in hospital.  He had an infection and needed antibiotics. 

He came home. He is tired. 

Mum decided it was time to get a new bench top in our kitchen.  She had finally saved up the money.

The plumber and the electrician came to visit. 

A man took me out for coffee.  Don't get excited... nothing came of it.

Someone came to install the new bench top. 

The kitchen sink got taken out!!

Two little girls came to visit yesterday afternoon (number 7 and number 8).  I will tell you more about that later. 

Shelly had to go to the vet for a mani/pedi.  She has finally forgiven me. 

Today, was Halloween.  There were lots of children knocking on my door early this evening.  I have run out of chocolate.

I am tired. 

What Shelly Did...

I don't usually like those cat shaming photos on the internet.
Example...

This one is funny, though.

The dog shaming is what makes me really laugh!! Dogs are so silly!

Last week, I was typing up a blog post (for my other blog) and I was nearly at the end.  I needed to edit it, add images, maybe write a concluding sentence.  It was almost finished.  Shelly - who has been fed and has a full water bowl - climbs up on my laptop and sits on the keyboard! She then stands back up and starts stepping on various keys, trying to jump up and play.  I finally get her off the keyboard and try to assess the damage.  She had deleted the entire blog post (which I apparently hadn't saved yet) and closed the window!

I was just speechless.  I couldn't be mad at her, because I'm almost certain she didn't do it on purpose.  She didn't, right?  She doesn't know which keys she was standing on.  Does she?

Look at that beautiful face! She couldn't possibly do something so naughty on purpose!!

Just for fun.  Here's another Silly Puppy Dog. 

Love

Tips for Perfect Pet Photos

You may have noticed I like to capture the memories.  I like to take photos of Shelly, playing, sleeping, looking at me like I'm silly, eating and even ignoring me. 

I find it a bit frustrating when she poses for the perfect picture and by the time my camera clicks, she has moved!!  I'm not getting a new phone so I can get a faster camera.  I'm sure there is probably some way I can change the settings so that the camera I have works faster.  In the meantime, I have found a way to get Shelly to focus, so my camera has time to focus too. 

All you need is one of these...

Image Source

That's right. all you need is a pipe cleaner!!!
Bend and twist it into any shape you like as long as you give it a 'tail' that can tuck into your phone cover.  Then, tuck it into your phone cover.  Simples!

Show your kitty the new attachment to your phone then start snapping.  Here are some photos I took of Shelly, using this awesome little fluffy wire. 

Have you ever seen a more beautiful kitty?

There are lots of listicles offering tips for great pet photography.  Many of these articles include the almost 'common sense' info.  Here are some ideas that I have picked up from my reading and experience.

I couldn't possibly have planned this photo! 

1. Be ready, always!
You never know when your little treasure will do something cute.  Be prepared.
2. Have Fun!
If you have some time and want to take a few photos for something specific (e.g. I made a calendar for Nanny last year with photos of Shelly for each month) get out the treats and the toys and have some fun. 


As you can see, some of the best pics were impromptu
and included Shelly's toys!

The treats feature too sometimes!

3. Relax. 
If you are relaxed, your kitty or puppy or bird or goldfish will be relaxed too.  That's the best way to get a great photo.  By the way, this is true for photographing humans too.

4.  Tidy up.
Have a nice clean space that has nothing you will notice later and not want in your pictures.  Some really great pictures of Shelly have been ruined by the pile of laundry in the background. 


5. Try different angles and shot types. 
The extreme close up may really bug your pet.  I know there are times when Shelly doesn't want me in her face.  Lots of photographers will tell you to get down on 'their' level.  If your pet is on the floor, you get on the floor too and take photos from the same height.  But some of the best pics I have seen are from unusual angles.   I have photos from Shelly's level, from under, above and beside her.  Don't worry if it isn't the 'recommended' shot type or angle that you are 'supposed' to get.  Take it anyway.  You might be surprised with the results.

6. Edit
Use an online or phone application to edit your photos.  Crop, change colouring, reduce red eye, blur edges, do the lot.  Have fun with it too.

So there are my tips.  Have fun!!